thank you, chris. we're expecting a press conference from boston police about 30 minutes from now. we will, of course, bring that to you live. let's start right now with what we know. here's the very latest information we have this hour on the horrific events in boston. this was the scene at the finish line for the boston marathon just before 3:00 this afternoon. as you saw happen right at finish line, there was a second explosion, about a block further back. the explosions took place four hours and nine minutes into the race. last year the average time finishing was four hours 18 minutes. it was a high traffic time at

the finish line. authorities did not have any specific intelligence on an attack ahead of time. they have closed down the blast site for 24 hours and boston police are asking people to stay in their homes and hotel rooms and not to gather in large crowds. right now they're not sure where they were placed and treating anything unattended from backpacks to trash cans as suspicion. the boston police are confirming two fatalities and more than 20 injuries. the number of injuries coming from local hospital reporting are much higher with a total of 100 patients reportedly being treated at five area hospitals. nbc news has been told that one of the two known fatal tis was an 8-year-old child. no suspect in custody, many people are being questioned. the u.s. attorneys office is working together with the fbi, atf and other state, local and federal law enforcement officials on the investigation. and nbc news is reporting that

460 national guardsmen are on site as well. a white house official says any event with multiple explosive devices is clearly an act of terror and will be approached as such. we'll talk about that. and earlier this evening, the president himself addressed the nation. >> we're continuing to monitor and respond to the situation as it unfolds. and i've directed the full resources of the federal government to help state and local authorities protect our people, increase security around the united states as necessary and investigate that. we still do not know who did this or why. and people shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. but, make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this. and we will find out who did this, we'll find out why they did this. any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice. >> the president saying we still do not know who did this or why

and people shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. that remains true at this moment as i speak to you. security has been stepped up around the white house this evening and passenger cities around the country from miami to new york city to los angeles. joining us from boston, katy turr. can you tell me the late nest boston in terms of where people are, what has been closed off and what the state of the city is now hours after the attack? >> it's very eerie here in boston. we're two blocks from the finish line, two blocks from where those explosions happened and pretty much nobody on the street. the police commissioner of the city asked that everybody stay inside, go back to the hotel rooms for their safety. there is a 15 block radius where you cannot get in with car traffic. so if you are coming in, you have to walk. it's pretty erie around here, you're seeing law enforcement, national guard, we have heard

from the navy is assisting. the back bay, if you've been to boston, is usually a very popular area, busy area, especially after the marathon, these bars are going crazy after the marathon with people celebrating. right now everything is shut down. and everyone is looking for answers. coming up to reporters and going up to police officers, trying to figure out why anybody would do this, but there are so few answers, but the white house and the homeland security chairman say it does appear to be terrorism. it happened around the four hour mark of the race, right around the finish line. that's when most of the racers usually finish. it does look like it was intended to cause the most damage. right afterwards there was a scene of chaos. at first it seemed they didn't know what happened, maybe an accident, but 15 seconds later when the second explosion went off, people knew something was wrong. we're just a few steps away from where a woman stumbled away from the finish line with severe

injuries. she had shrapnel injuries, that was involved in the explosions. she was take ton a local hospital. we don't know her condition. but with all those injuries, a lot of lower limb injuries, that's why there are so many people in critical condition. 100 injured, two people dead, and we have learned from a law enforcement source that one of the dead is an 8-year-old boy. the last thing they would expect today, a holiday, a celebratory day, they were not thinking that could have possibly happened. so you have a feeling of shock and a feeling of what could possibly happen next in boston tonight. >> katy, i feel like that was heightened partly because of reports subsequent of two explosive devices, abc news reported, others were found left behind. we have not confirmed if they were explosive. we do know out of precautionary measures, the boston police

rendered themselves safe. do we know from the boston police whether they have secured afternoon area and are no longer concerned about the presence of secondary explosive dwoiss? >> reporter: we do not know that as of now. there will be a press conference in 30 minutes. we're expected to find out more. we know anything left on the ground, any package, as you can imagine, people are dropping things left and right. then the sploess, running away and dropping whatever is on them. treating everything as suspicion. we believe there was a potentially a third device, and safely detonated. a fire at the jfk lay briar, it's not clear what caused that. they say there were no explosions at the library. >> thank you so much. nbc news chief white house correspondent chuck todd joins us from washington. the president addressed the

nation around 6:10. it was a fairly brief and very careful in terms of what the president said and what we know. what are you hearing from the white house now about what is unfolding since that address and why they took the approach they did? >> reporter: well, look, the issue, of course, when you say the approach, carefully chosen words, one of them had to do with why he didn't use the word terrorism. it was something that the white house themselves addressed quickly. you read the statement. aids debated whether the president should say is or not, and made the decision not to. one of the things you could hear it in his voice, talk to other officials, there isn't a lot of information. there's a bit of frustration, i think with law enforcement officialing from boston to washington about how little they seem to know at this point in time. now, i've talked to a couple of former white house security officials, one who said it's a loan wolf or a group they don't know anything about and didn't

see -- see this group coming, if you will, because it's a group they hadn't been tracking, or they're just still trying to piece everything together. they may have something, but they want to be very, very careful, maybe overly careful because of what thing they night might know. >> that was quite evident in fact president's remarks. it seems when we use the word terrorism, we're talking about an action, but also a motivation. if there is no information now about who did this and who's responsible, as far as we know, no information, it seems to me prudent not to venture that word since that word does imply some specific ideological motivation in the act. >> reporter: i feel like i'm watching washington rush to say the words. and you're right, there is a technical definition, political motivation involved. and i think -- the president himself said we don't know the motive. they know it was somebody who committed an act of terror.

>> right. >> reporter: and tried to harm and kill people, but don't know who it is and don't know the motivation. until they too do, that's why they're being careful. they know the president's words get parsed like nobody's business, so it wasn't as if this caught them by surprise. >> we just read recently a lesson for everyone, in the media as well in the wake of the benghazi attacks about how much initial reports may prove later to not be fully accurate. there's a lot of confusion in the aftermath of a chaotic event like this. >> reporter: and don't forget the atlanta ohms. that was a domestic terrorist who didn't take credit for it. there's the expectation, i think much of our security system is so focused on international terrorism sometimes, that i think that that's why, you know, that word gets thrown around. but, you know, there is -- there is assumptions, and i've heard

others say, there's assumption somebody will take kred credit, that's the way it works internationally. we don't know. >> we've heard reports of expanded security around the white house, what can you dell us about that? >> reporter: we've seen it. they've gotten rid of -- pushed the perimeter to lafayette park, and pennsylvania salve closed to vehicle traffic, but now to tourist traffic. if you have an id badge, if you have business at the white house you can get in and out. but this is high tour season, so they're taking precaution and pushing everybody back. basically the opposite side of the street of the white house. >> nbc news chuck todd, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> reporter: you got it. >> i want to bring in ron allen joining us from mass general hospital in boston. the boston area home to an incredible number of some of the finest medical institutions in

the entire country. what are you seeing hearing about those who have been brought there after the explosions today? >> reporter: absolutely right, chris. and all the doctors and medical staff in the town seem to be pulling together. people have come in from home to help out, because everybody was aware of what happened. first here outside the hospital, we were just told by the police some time ago to be careful about where we were, because there was an operation going on where there was concern where there might have been another explosive device. that threat, if there ever was one, as subsided, gone, so we are fine to stay here and broadcast. shopt just around the corner. i was able to have a conversation with an emergency room physician from beth israel, another hospital from across town, they received 20 to 30 patients. the doctor said there's an eerie calm because the crisis, the

intense triage sessions have essentially ended. the situation is somewhat stabilized in the hospital. but there are at least seven patients in the operating rooms in surgery right now with life-threatening and what they describe as limb-threatening wounds. a lot of people facing partial amputations or total amputations of arms and legs. as you might expect where there's a situation where a bomb goes off, a lot of shrapnel and moving around and flying around at a violent pace, and that's the kind of injury they're seeing that's causing the most life-threatening injuries. he said that there are also -- i asked him about what kind of shrapnel, he said it looked like -- he's not an expert, something of an expert, bb gun pell lets. it wasn't the kind that was glass and other kinds of debris that you would a bomb exploding

in the city street. exactly. he describes something like a bb pellet, which is something, the investigation will determine this as we go on, something that might have been packed into an explosive. that's one thing the police and investigates are trying determine, what they were made of. but that doctor mentioned that which i thought was interesting. a lot of tension here in the city. i just flew in and drove through the city, i know boston well, i used to live here, it's eerie where people are walking around trying to get a sense of where things are going, what's happening. desperate for information, hanging on the latest word about what's going on, what's new. there are a lot of police road blocks around boston. hard to get around. the traffic is very thick. just as we were pulling up, there was a warning from some of the police.

but the investigation 69 parking garage, area has passed. but it's an example that the whole situation is still evolving, continuing. it's not over. of course, for people -- the patients in the hospital, i count seven at beth israel, a handful here. i'm not sure of the exact numbers because it's a fluid situation. but there is still the possibility of people fighting for their lives, trying to deal with potentially life threatening, and as i said before, what they're describing as limb threatening wounds. >> our latest reporting is 113 total injured. i'd like to play sound for you. dr. al stir from mass general addressed the media. take a listen. >> some of the patients have already received traumatic amputations at the scene, their legs have been blown off, and bleeding profusely. so in conjunction with those right on the scene, they've

managed to stop the bleeding, but they're in the operating room already. >> my yes question there in boston is this, we've seen in other emergencies and crisis, caused by natural disasters or other, million infrastructure overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. it seems from the reporting today that the medical infrastructure, the first responders, emt all the way into the trauma centers have been able to accommodate the incredible scale of this, of the violence that happened there today. >> reporter: yes, i don't get the impression from talking to medical personnel or the reports that the system is overwhelmed. i don't get that sense at all. you'll recall that, again, right at the end of the marathon, just past the finish line, there's a triage center set up, medical tents set up to hands injured runners pushing themselves across the finish line. those areas were overwhelmed by

people running in after the bomb blast. it's fortunate, if we can use that word that it happened four hours plus into the race, didn't happen as the leaders were crossing the finish line, because there would have been many, many more thousands more people, runners and spectators in the area. that is one thing that's kept the number of casualties down. but i don't get any sense that the medical facilities are overwhelmed. they are amongst the best in the country, in the world. they know what they're doing. as i've said earlier, i've heard a lot of volunteers have come rushing in who weren't on duty to be here to help out. as i'm standing here talking to you, i can still hear the sound of blangss around the city heading this way, and there's an ambulance going by just up the street there. so, again, this is still a very fluid situation. i've heard the number of 130 injured, the question now is how many have been treated and released. we don't have a clear number on

that. but we do know there are perhaps a dozen or more people,ing? in that range, based on the reporting, of people in potentially life threatening situations. not critical, not giving out that much information, but there's still a lot of people in severe dangers. >> ron allen, thank you so much. one of the things striking about what we know so far is the ratio of pfatalities to casualties. two people lost their lives, but it's good that so many appear to have avoided death. and right now joining me is donald, former fbi essential agent who investigated the oklahoma city bombing, the u.s. embassy attacks and be the usa coal in 2000.

thanks for being here. the thing everyone wants know is who did this. >> of course. >> it's the thing everyone wants to know, but we cannot answer that, so instead, as someone who has transported into the aftermath of a mass casualty event in the role of investigator, explain to us what is happening now. who is showing up in boston under who's direction, who is coordinating and what are the processes undertake ton find out who did this? >> it's going to be a long night and week for the agents and the joint terrorism task force in boston. what typically happens, and i'm positive what's happening now, first thing is they have a joint command post set up. it'll be a jop, a joint operations center. this was more than likely already set up to handle an event like this because they were dealing with the boston marathon, a special event.

>> standard procedure. >> resources in place which saved them a lot of time. it's tough when you have a cold start, a bomb goes off, you have to set it up without any kind of prewarning. so they've got that infrastructure in place. and in that will be representatives from all of the agencies that are basically involved in the investigation, state, local, federal, there will be people coming in from washington. and this will be the nerve center of the investigation. so right now, it's kind of in 14/7 mode. >> and what agencies are represented ? when you talk about this, who is part of that? >> i can't tell you everybody in boston, certainly the fbi, the state police, atf, all the federal agencies, local police. i was in charge of the international terrorism division in new york as my last job. so new york, for example, over 50 participating agencies in the joint terrorism task force.

so certainly there are a lot of resources that will be traugt brought to bear on this situation. >> what do those resources do? what's the checklist? where do you figure this out? >> the first thing is that we've got some good forensic evidence that's been collected. number one, the teams are going to go out and try to put these devices together that exploded. they're going to collect any little bits and pieces, wire anything that can help put the devices together. and try to figure out, you know, what did it look like before it blew up? but, we've got a break in the situation in that there were other devices, as i understand it, other devices retrieved that law enforcement rendered safe. so we have some unexploded devices that could possibly really provide significant leads. for example, do all devices -- are they similar? does it look like they were made bit same person?

a lot of times people that make bombs make them the same way. they have a pattern, a signature. sometimes there's fingerprints, dna. you can look at components of the device and figure out where they came from. backtracking, you know, records. many times that the explosive material itself carries a signature, so they can tell the manufacturer who made it. if it was high order, low order, gun powder, what was the signature of this? >> let me ask you this. based on the -- are think conclusions to be drawn about the sophistication or capacity to produce the kind of bombs based on how fatal they appear to have been? is there anything we can conclude based on who would have the ability to make a bomb that would have this kind of effect? >> well, for example, if it's a kind of a pipe bomb that's made

with black pouder and a timing device, and as we saw in the early reporting, shrapnel, bbs, whatever. that's a device that's not overly complicated to make. >> and that would expand the circle of plausible suspects because that is a capacity that many people have. >> less technical, the easier it is for the average person to get their hands on this. as opposed to some of the devices that we've seen coming out of the afghanistan and pakistan that are made by more sophisticated bombers and techniques, for example, where they use tatp as the explosive. this was the device that was attempted to be used in the new york subway. this takes a higher degree of train. it's also a lot more lethal. my opinion, and this is just opinion, i am not a bomb tech, but if we had seen devices that

were more sophisticated, i think we would see a lot more casualties and it would have been a lot worse. >> and a more narrow sense of possible -- >> possible, but that's -- that's only based on the video and just kind of in my amateur assessment. >> let me ask you this other question, and we have an eyewitness who was in the medic tent today when the explosion went off that i want to bring in, before we do that, what is the rule of law that currently operates guiding the investigators? i think this is an important question. it's contested in the aftermath of the underwear bomber on christmas who's custody he was taken into. when we are talking about the joint operation center and investigations happening across a number of agencies, what rule of law controls? >> the fbi is in charge of

terrorism. so it is in the -- it will be an fbi-led investigation. >> which means the united states constitution and the due process it affords and all of the do thing is and crossing ts that goes along with that. >> that goes along with that. however, that is not to say that intelligence collection isn't a big part of this. and the -- the trick is to find that delicate balance. so, for example, if there is information to be collected by intelligence means, whether it's a sensitive source, domestic, overseas, we're going to pursue that -- every angle of that. if it means that somebody's in custody, and the decision is made that we to want interview this person without reading may ran da rights -- >> in foreign custody? >> in u.s. custody there are situations now where a lot of people are saying you don't need to read the miranda rights right

away. if is strong suspect is picked up, or could provide significant information, i think that addition could be discussed between doj, fbi, the white house -- >> presumably as the fbi is going through this, they are looking to make sure no secondary attacks is the first priority, and then to make sure they maintain the possibility of getting ultimately a criminal conviction. >> absolutely. >> joining us now is an eyewitness, greg, ran the marathon and was in the medical tent with the explosions happened. he joins us by phone from boston. greg, zwrieb describe what you were doing in the medical tent at what time and what the scene there was like. >> yeah, the first thing to share, this was wave three, so i was a charity runner for the alzheim alzheimer's association. we started at 10:40 a.m., and i

finished my first under four. hi pushed pretty hard in mile 25 and 26, what that means i was winded and dizzy, i was ready to faint. as i crossed the finish line one i asked for medical assistance, a wheelchair, i heard your reporter say, typical post marathon, to give, if you will, a little tlc. i'm near mass general myself, another ambulance. i was in the tent, i think it was approximately eight minutes after i had crossed. so close to 2:40 p.m. that i heard an explosion, i was laying on a cot, getting my blood pressure taken, my initial question, was that thunder? it was a beautiful day in boston. i didn't think that was the case. pretty loud crack, ka-boom. you could sense in the tent that it was more than thunder and a

very serious situation. >> did you hear the second explosion right afterwards? >> i think that's what triggered it, you knew then -- the first thing that came to my mind, it could have been a generator or water line, you hope and pray that it's not some sort of intentional act. it sounds like that's not the case, unfortunately. let me first of all say that my -- the victims, hopefully that's not what's coming in now, but my hearts and prayers go out to all those affected. the attendance in that tent, the length of a football field, not quite as wide, the people who were in that tent were immediately out there. i don't think you could have asked for a better response from medical personnel to handle the victims chl victims. >> they were going out to get

the people and is that where triage was administered? >> i was in a wheelchair. they have stretchers, et cetera. and i guess you would sate good side is all that was on scene. so if you watch the video, you'll see, unlike oklahoma city, other similar situations, you see fire fighters or whoever carrying victims, in this case, everybody was coming into the medical tent on stretchers or in wheelchairs. and pretty quickly after i was feeling good, got some salts and fluids, i was doing okay. they made an announcement, something to the effect of we need to move all runners to the far end of the tent. and i vividly recall, please all remain calm. there has been an incident, please remain calm. just an impressive response from that entire first aid tent to make sure that everything was

happening in a quick, but also an orderly fashion. so i was -- my legs were wobbly, they still are, quite honestly, i'm pleased to be walking based on other scenarios. but as soon as i could get out of there, i was trying to. i told them not to worry about me, take care of other people. >> just so you know, we are waiting now on a live press conference from boston with updates from the boston police department, and i believe massachusetts governor deval patrick. they have addressed the press several times. it will be the boston police department giving updates. greg was in the medic tent, speaking to us by phone when he saw the first responders spring into action. did you see the people brought in, did you see the kind of injuries that people were sustaining. >> i did. and to put it bluntly, i would prefer not describing what i

saw. and would say only people in the military or perhaps emts responding to accident victims, something that have sort. it was not something i would want to see again. it was bloody injuries, ranging from what i would guess were superficial to much more severe than that. you can swek late based on what you've seen, the medical reports, i saw the immediate victims being brought in, so it was not pretty. >> greg who ran the marathon today was in the medic tent at moment of the explosion. and i hope you're feeling better and thank you so much for joining us tonight. appreciate it. >> my prayers are out to the families. >> thank you, greg. we have a statement by secretary napolitano on the boston explosions. our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted in boston, especially the families of those injured. federal law enforcement agencies continue to president.

at the president's direction, the department of homeland security is providing anything necessary in the ongoing investigation. we encourage the public to be vigilant and listen to state and local officials. there was quite a bit reaction to the linguistic question about what the wlt president did or did not use the word terrorism to describe the event, chuck todd and i had a back and forth about that. does it matter at all from the perspective, an investigator on the ground, is that at all meaning to feel doing your job? >> at this point, that's more something for the media to worry about and what the president said. this investigation is being treated like terrorism. the default position is when you have multiple devices go off or attempted to go off, it's terrorism from an investigative standpoint. >> in terms of the resource? >> the resources, the laws that will be used, the methods and techniques of the investigation,

this will be treated like terrorism. until proven otherwise, essentially. maybe it will turn out to be just nothing -- as a traditional terrorism with an idealistic motive or with a group with an agenda, but from this point, from an investigator point of view, it's terrorism. >> charles spears a staff writer at grant land.com and an incredible reporter. charlie, as a son of boston, just tell me what the significance of this day, patriot day, and the boston marathon day and the day that everyone who has ever been a part of in boston says is awesome, the significance of something so horrible happening on this day? >> i've covered in my former capacity as a daily sports writer about 15 boston marathons, i've hung around for more than that. we make fun of ourselves.

it is a holiday only in massachusetts because it celebrates the battles of lexington and concord and the state legislature gets the day off, we make fun of that. but this will be as dark a day as the city has in its memory. this is the -- i don't know what you'd call it. the boston marathon is one of the few sporting events that we have that's not heavily garrisoned. it's impossible. 26 miles long, millions of people line the race, there's no way to garrison it. i had to go through metal detecters on the national mall. it's the last one true sports event we have, and now it's marked. >> i want to direct you to the right side of the screen, a live shot from boston where we are expecting a live update from the boston police department in just moments. charles, you went down to the aftermath of the scene after the

explosion, what did you see there? >> well, i mean, i'd like to associate myself with don there. the question of whether or not the president says terrorism or not is sadly irrelevant when you walk around the square. it's in the mind of the trerized. this was a shell-shocked feeling you saw. and the other thing that's unique to this particular event is you're dealing with eyewitnesss who have already run 26 miles today. these are people who are stunned anyway. and then to come around that last corner and come down boylston street and essentially walk or run or jog into the abyss, it's beyond by experience. what was left when i got down there were exhausted emts, the absolutely exhausted people in the medical tent, and runners trying to get together with their families. entire families trying to regroup on the common and in the

public garden and in that part of back bay going towards the river that was not blocked off. >> i want to read information since you're talking about this for folks in the boston area or looking for loved ones, here's important information in getting in contact, cell service is jammed up, google hassen extremely useful tool called person finder. go to google.com/person finder, boston marathon explosions, looking for someone or have information about someone. with cell service so spotty because of the overload, this is a really great way if you have an net connection to track people down. you can log on to red cross.org, the safe and well system. register information about someone lyre they're looking for. and boston.com has a google dock for people who need a place to

stay, or people who can gentle can't get out of the city or back to the hotels. the amazing thing about marathon day in major cities, i've never been to boston, but i have been to other cities, and the communal spirit which makes today's events all the more horrifying. charlie, i wonder your sense of how the boston police and local official haves responded to this and what the feeling in the city is about that response response so far. >> let's go from the most on the ground and work out. the emts and the emergency responders and the boston police, most of who had been on ute duty at their stations on boylston street since midnight, their response was exemplary. one of the day's cruel ironies is they had to take down the safety barriers. it they had to take them apart to get to the people injured on the sidewalk. all accounts are that the emts

and the first responders did an absolutely magnificent job of an out of nowhere event. my sense is now, having been around, is that the federal response is starting to take over from the local response. i think don alluded to this earlier, the joint operating center, then it's a federal investigation. the boston police, the ones i spoke to who were on the scene, they were very nervous, jumpy. the worst two words in the english language for me today were secondary device. i heard it three or four times when i was trying to get close to the scene of the events. i think most -- what you had there was essentially a controlled area anyway, and you had police who had been on duty since midnight. they were at least on station to control the area around back bay when they had to. >> we've got kurt with us from the boston public radio station. he joins us from phone.

kurt, you've been out and about today doing fan it's aing reporting i've been follow. what are you hearing? what is the latest you are hearing? >> i think what's interesting is how a lot of people have rallied to help a lot of the runners. many of whom weren't able to finish the race because it was cut short and cut off. a lot of the crime scene is in and around hotels where people are staying. and thousands of people have offered places for people to stay. and there's been a reaction from folks because this is -- this is a really special day in boston. i tweeted before anything happened that it's the greatest day of the year in boston. it's a great public event. this is about professional runners, but also thousands of amateurs doing this amazing feet. and it's unlike the super bowl or other events where it's exclusive and expensive to get tickets, it's free to everybody. it's an amazing community

spirit. and not just american. because it's a big international event, an ethiopian and kenyan runner won today, thousands come from around the world. it's an amazing tribute to the human spirit. that's why it strikes everybody here so wrong. >> in fact one of the most iconic moments in the horrifying video that we see, as you see the explosion and the camera moves in, there is this line of flags from across countries of the world representing people from different countries around the world who have come to participate. that is precisely the place, you know, nothing more kind of open or koz moe poll tan than this image of country after country after country's flags literally attacked in that moment, that i think is the moment that we've all seen today and there's something really powerful about

that. this is a very open event. >> absolutely. and it's right across the street, the finish line is right across the street from the boston public library, the first public buy lye brar in the country. the sign over its doors says free to all. this is an open spirit and a race that's all about liberty and human achievement. >> and i would also say, as we look at this footage and as obviously we're thinking about the victims, we're thinking about those who are currently right now as we speak receiving surgery in some of the hospitals around boston. those who are reunited with loved ones, amputated and suffered the loss of limbs, on a day of such tremendous horror, as always as there are in this country and around the world, tremendous examples of know biblt and bravery and toughness and kindness in all of the

people around, not just the first responders within the folks there, pictures of random strangers rushing in as volunteers to help folks. and i think it's important that we all keep our eyes on that. don, i want to ask you, after 9/11 there was a tremendous and profound transformation of the way that we provided security to events in the country. everything from going into midtown manhattan office building and showing your id, having your bag searched at yankee stadium, anything like that, what transformations do you think might come out of this? to what e tend is a mass open event that covers a 26-mile route like this even a thing that could plausibly be defended from this kind of attack? >> it's tough. because unlike a super bowl or funneling everyone into a fixed space and can do screening, this event is spread out over 26 miles, so it's tough.

obviously the organizers and the participants, the city of boston, it's meant to be fun. and sometimes it's a challenge to balance security with making it fun for the participants. because not everybody wants to spend six hours in line to get into a place and have their bag checked and this -- and then people will efferently stop going. you have to try to find that balance. i think as the investigation unfolds, we'll maybe learn what was done in this, and lessons learned on how to prevent it. how soon were these devices placed before they blew up? was there a way to prevent that? did -- did boston need more patrols, dogs, or technical devices that could have helped identify one of these devices? you know, who knows. you know, probably not. sometimes you do everything by the book, and still --

>> and still. >> it happens. >> there was a remarkable moment with mayor tom menino who has been serving as boston mayor for many years. he announced he will not seek re-election, he was in the hospital, came back from the hospital to address reporters today. and the mayor has really looms large in the city of boston because of the duration and the fame of his tenure there. >> for sure. i mean, he was, he's been mayor for 20 years and was mayor on 9/11 when two of the planes left boston logan airport. so security here has been taken uber seriously ever since. in many ways, this was the worst place to try to do something like this, police had swept that area, there were emergency responders who did work taking

care of people immediately, highly trained followings there, dozens, if not hundreds of police in those two blocks and race officials, police were drawing their pistol within seconds of the explosion. so the presence was there. i'm sure much will be examined. and how much they spent on security in the past, but it's, you know, from all accounts, at least at first, they did what they were supposed to do. >> kurt. thank you so much. sorry. it looks like we're -- >> no -- >> they're not starting? are they starting the presser? we will bring you that live when we have the sound. we are looking at a live shot of boston. going to have the governor join us again, u.s. attorney's here, the district attorney, police commissioner, fbi, et

cetera. so we're going to bring them up. >> appears to be a brief two-minute warning that the presser is about to begin. and we are awaiting a briefing from govern every deval patrick, boston police commissioner and others on the latest updates on the bombing today of the boston marathon. >> everybody set? i'm going to make a couple of comments and then turn it over to rick who's a special agent in charge of the fbi's office here. and then ask commissioner ed davis to make some comments, and then we're happy to take any questions that you may have. as you know, this whole community has been dealing with a horrific event today, two explosion on boylston street, near the finish line of today's

boston marathon. over 100 people injured, some gravely. we are not ready yet to confirm the details of those injuries. there are federal, state and local law enforcement all on scene and coordinating very closely. the fbi has taken charge of the investigation, as i mentioned, special agent in charge, rick will speak to that in just a minute. this is an active investigation, particularly in the several blocks around boylston street, around that blast area. that is a crime scene. the national guard has secured that crime scene. and is limiting access to it. so that will affect not just this evening, but the next day or two while the investigation continues. a support center has been opened at the park plaza castle on arlington and columbus avenue. runners -- there were several

runners who were unable to finish the race as you may know because the race was stopped right after the event. there are buses bringing those runners from various cities and towns along the route to that support station now. and families who have not had a chance yet to connect or other friends and supporters have not had a chance to connect with runners or who have other needs can check in there at the support center. the city, the mayor and his staff have made staff available at the support center to help meet people's needs. otherwise the city of boston is open, and open tomorrow, but it will not be business as usual, it will be heightened law enforcement presence consistent with the severity and seriousness of the ongoing investigation. those riding the t will see

random checks of backpacks and other parcels. we ask everyone to be patient with the inconvenience for the time being. it is for the public's safety. we're also asking that everyone be on a state of heightened vigilance. that is required of everyone. please report suspicion packages or parcels or suspicion activity to local law enforcement. i also want to say that there have been a number of stories i have heard this afternoon of residents in boston and along the route in the cities and towns, that the marathon passes through, of extraordinary kindness shown to runners and others, neighbors and visitors who are as shaken by this experience as we are. and we so appreciate those kindnesses, and thank you for them. we're going to get through this. we do not have all the answers to all of your questions yet,

not all of you here in the media or others around the commonwealth around the country or the. but i can tell you from the president to the members of our congressional delegation to many, many fellow governors who have called to check in to all of the leaders in law enforcement here in the constituent at the local level and at the federal level, we are all coming together to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this. let me turn the podium over now to special agent in charge, rick. >> thank you very much, governor patrick. most important fact that i want to convey to everybody this evening has already been mentioned, the fbi is taking the lead in this investigation. it is asserting federal jurisdiction and will do sew through the boston joint terrorism task force, members comprised of the law enforcement agencies here represented. this is a combined federal,

state and local effort. it will be an ongoing investigation. it is a criminal investigation that has the potential -- that is a potential terrorist investigation. we will be working diligently to gather information and the facts and bring those who are responsible for this crime to justice as swiftly as possible. it is an ongoing investigation, as governor patrick mentioned, i'm not at liberty right now to go into details of the ongoing investigation, but i encourage everyone to have a heightened state of vigilance in the boston area tonight and tomorrow as we move forward. i urge everybody who has any information pertaining to this crime to call 1-800-call fbi, it's a tip line we have set up to receive tips or leads that might come in. the fbi is bringing a substantial, very, very substantial federal resources to bear with our federal partners, atf, gene from the boston atf

office has been a key al eye, all the law enforcement agencies will be bringing tremendous resources to bear. all federal resources that can be brought to bear will be brought up here to the boston area. so that being said, i will turn it over, i think u.s. attorney ortiz wanted to say a few words, then commissioner davis. >> yes, good evening. i just want to echo what the governor has said and what many others have said throughout the day today. this is a horrific tragedy in our city of boston. and we, on behalf of the department of justice, are here to provide all the resources necessary to this investigation. there are a lot of questions. and questions that we wish we could answer at this point. but what i can assure you is that this is a very thorough and active and fluid investigation. and i ask that you help with that. quite frankly, i know that there

is a lot of information that is being sought as the govern every said. there's been a bit of misinformation. we do not want to add to that misinformation and what we want to do is to continue to investigate this matter, get to the individual or individuals that may be responsible for this and the department of justice is prepared to provide all of the assistance necessary to our, not only the fbi and atf and our other federal agencies, but our state and local partners as well. so i just wanted to echo that on behalf the department. thank you. >> thank you, united states attorney. on behalf of mayor menino, i'd like to offer my sympathies to the victims and families of the horrendous event. this cowardly act will not be taken in stride. we will turn every rock over to find the people who are responsible for this.

we're working very closely with my partner, rick, and the boston police department is on the scene and has been since this happened. there's been a horrendous loss of life, at least three people have died in this event. the number of injuries and the people injured is an unfolding issue right now. we will not have hard figures on that until tomorrow morning. there were all sorts of questions that are being asked. i want to stress one thing, there is no suspect at the hospital. there are people that we are talking to. but there is no suspect at the hospital as hash widely reported in the press. i'd like to fix that right now. again, there will be questions that -- that you have, and we'll do our best to answer them, but this is early in the investigation, tomorrow will not be business as usual in boston. the boston police department is

on emergency deployment. we are working 12-hour shifts and there will be a significant police presence through the the city. please give u.s. space as we process the scene. if there are any piece was information, photos from the incident, getting those to the the fbi tip line primarily they're now in charge of the investigation because of the nature of the investigation as well as the boston police line at 1-800-494-tips. i would like to invite dan to say a few words. >> thank you very much. i wassen boylston street near the finish line. had left about 30 minutes before this incident occurred. and a short time ago we and our top staff went down to the scene. it was a large and disturbing scene. like each of you, i'm praying for the victims and their loved ones.

this is a terrible, terrible day for them. they, and the public as large can count on our very best and most seamless work in the days to come. seconds after those bombs went off, we saw civilians running to help the victims right alongside members of the boston police department and boston ems. and in the hours that followed, police and medical personnel from across the region have sent dozens, maybe even hundreds of volunteers to help us here in boston. that's what americans do. in times of crisis, we come together and we help one another. moments like these, terrible as they are, don't show our weakness, they show our strength. thank you. >> take any questions? >> moments before the bomb went off, is this another tactic to

take away liberties? >> no. >> there's no suspect, but is there a person of interest at the park plaza? >> i'm not going to comment on specific investigative leads ongoing right now. i'm not at liberty to. but there is nefgt i have activity ongoing, but i can't comment. again, it is a very active and fluid investigation at this time. all resources, federal, state and local are brought to bear. >> how many devices did you find? >> again, i'm not going to comment on specifics of the investigation right now in terms of the number of explosives found. >> how many explosives were found? >> i'm not going to comment. evidence analysis is ongoing. it would be impru can't to comment. >> what about the people ho who

work in the area? if they can't get in for tomorrow, what should people do tomorrow? >> just in the area that is the cordoned off crime scene, along boylston street from berkeley to mass avenue and then north to newbury street and south to huntington, that's the secure area. now that may get installer over the course of the next several hours, but that area is not going to be accessible for normal traffic. there are people in hotels and people who live there who have to work out how they get to and from where they need to be. but otherwise, i think it's fair to say that area's pretty much going to be locked down until the information is complete. >> so people can walk to the offices and walk to work? >> well, i think some of that has to be sorted out. but it's not going to be easy, simple or regular.

and i think in most cases, people are not going to be able to have access to that specific area as it evolves over the course of the night. >> so what do people do? >> exactly. this is -- i would say in this sense, this is a little like storms we've dealt with where we are very much going to depend on you. as soon as we get information, we will put that out and count on you to get it out to the general public. >> are you confident you found all of the sploexplosives? are you confident people are safe? >> we are in the process of going through all the abandoned property that was discarded. we've pretty much cleared the boylston street area. there are no further devices that we have located at this point in time. but we are getting reports from various places about suspicion packages. that's understandable. i'm not prepared to say that we

are at ease at this point in time. we are very actively purr sug every lead that we have. >> could you confirm that an 8-year-old child was killed? >> i'm not going to confirm that right now. we'll have in that in the morning. the medical people are compiling that. >> is this an -- >> extent of the injuries, how serious people? >> there was a powerful blast, there were serious injuries. >> does the investigation include the entire route? >> no. the investigation will lead us in various places. but right now that area that the governor outlined is the main point of focus. >> people to be calm before the bomb went off -- >> are you searching the entire route of the marathon